Whatever it Takes
by Lia Crystal
Summary: Tom Riddle had lived his whole life surrounded by Muggles and their obliviousness to the wizarding world. Being sick of their ignorance, he craved revenge. This story explains how he gained power among fellow wizards...
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone! This is a story (as you just read) that explains how Tom Riddle got so powerful. It starts out after Tom Riddle has just turned in Rubeus Hagrid for opening the Chamber of Secrets (in the second book…) Please tell me any suggestions you have… =D

Tom Riddle, Lord Voldemort and all of them are JK Rowlings, but Lyn is mine.

Chapter 1

That night, after Tom Riddle and Headmaster Dippet had a long discussion about Rubeus Hagrid and the happenings of the past year, the Prefect strolled down the corridors to the bare stone wall that stood before him. He took a breath before going in, but realized that no one would be up at such an hour and sighed with relief. So badly he wanted to tell Lyn about this. Lyn would care; she would understand. 

He stopped shortly before going into the boys' dormitories and thought, but soon changed his mind and went to go get Lyn, his only friend. 

Finding her room quickly, he quietly walked on the wood floor, choosing his feeting wisely. If one of the other girls woke up, he could only guess how much trouble he would be in. Lyn's bed was in the far corner surrounded by books and old, ragged robes.

"Lyn… Lyn…" he shook her arm gently, and she rubbed her eyes and looked up at him. 

"Tom… What is it?" she said while trying to wipe the sleep from her eyes.

"It was Hagrid. Hagrid!" he whispered excitedly. Even though he knew who the real culprit was, if he could make her believe the lie, then maybe he could keep her as a friend.

Her sleepy eyes suddenly went wide as she sat up in bed and stared blankly at Tom.

"C'mon" he beckoned as walking swiftly out of the silent dormitory. She got out of bed, still in her pajamas and followed him closely, eager to hear what he had to say.

When they reached the green common room, they stopped, and without even sitting down, he began to tell her all the actions of that night.

After hearing the whole story, Lyn had a wave of anger pass over her. "Hagrid? You turned in Hagrid? Now I guess you expect me to believe this!" her face hardened into a glare that stared directly at Tom who glared right back. "Tom, I know the truth…"

Their expressions stayed the same, but before saying another word, Tom looked around the room to make sure that no one else was there.

"I didn't do it!" he said angrily. "I thought you trusted me!"

"God damnit, Tom, this has gone too far!" she shouted, but then realized how loud she was being and looked around again warily.

"Yes, but now its going to stop. I promise!"

There was a small pause, then a deep sigh of regret. "All right then, Tom, all right…"

They both looked at each other for about a spit second; then, Lyn found a chair and dumped her tired body into it. He reached for her hand and held it tightly. She felt his warm hand and squeezed it. They were the only ones who knew about this. No one else would care or believe if they ever did try to explain. They were the outcasts.

In the very first year they arrived, there were a few people who were known as the losers. No one ever wanted to talk to them or even listen what they had to say. Lyn Willard and Tom Riddle were among the most un-cool losers and they both knew it. Of course, they tried to ignore the fact that they were hated and mistreated; they pretended that it didn't matter to them and that nothing could get in the way of them learning magic. That was the way that Tom and Lyn met.

In the process, they learned a lot about each other. Both had once had witch mothers and hated their fathers. Lyn's dad was still alive; she lived with him over the summer but hated every second. He was always mad and often drunk. He also beat the crap out of Lyn when he felt especially mean or angry.

After hearing his story though, Lyn didn't feel so bad about her life. Sure, it was pretty awful, but at least she didn't have to live in some terrible orphanage where everyone was mistreated. 

Another trait of the two was that they each were headed for the same future. They hated their lives and had always wanted to grow up to something better—something beyond Muggles and childish magic. They agreed that there was nothing worse than the foul unmagical people, and hoped to someday seek revenge on their stupid Muggle family members who didn't care about them and wouldn't notice them there or missing.

Tom thought about the past years while standing there. He noticed that so many horrific memories of schoolboys and other orphans flooded his memory, but since he met Lyn, things had changed. Someday he would get them all back. Someday… 

Days of ruling flooded his dreams at night and his thoughts in the day. So many people needed to be punished… Oh so many! Yet, he knew he could not get there alone. He knew that once he made it to the top, whenever that was, he would kill Lyn. Not that he would want to, but he would _have_ to kill her because he wasn't about to make an alliance, even with his one friend. There was no partnership, to him, only power. They already had some started ideas about how to rule above others. Yes, they were only 16 years old, but it made no difference.

Now, he had one favor to ask of Lyn. They had to start something sometime.

"Lyn…" he started.

"Mm-hmm?" She looked up at him with her large brown eyes.

"I need to come over to your house this summer… Maybe even for the whole holidays…"

"Why?" she looked a bit confused.

"Well, we have so many good ideas! We need to get away from these hells we are in and get out somewhere. I would truthfully rather die than go back to that orphanage, and I know you can't stand up to your dad because he beats you… We could help each other…"

"I'm sure that's okay. Why not? We would have to see if everything worked OK, but sure. My dad wouldn't noticed unless he was sober, but like that's gunna happen…" she said sleepily, "We had better get back to the dorm… Need our rest for tomorrow…"

"Yeah," he said, "Thanks Lyn." He was plesantly surprised she could answer so quickly.

She stood up and looked at him with a sarcastic smile. "Hey, no problem," she said and then kissed his cheek lightly. 

Suddenly Tom's blood ran cold and his mind filled with rage. He ripped his hand from hers.

"Don't you _ever_ kiss me again!" he said as holding his wand up readily.

She glared at him. The truth was, she loved him. For the longest time, she had a crush on him simply because he was the only one who treated her differently, but now, she loved him as a friend, and it was a real love.

"Want me to tell you what you shouldn't do?!" she yelled, "You shouldn't ruin my fun! My life has been miserable too, Tom. I know you don't like to hear it, but you're not the _only_ one who has been living an awful life!"

She calmed herself down quickly remembering that she respected this person, but knowing all the same that what she had just said was true.

"Good night. I'll see you in the morning," she said and walked off into the girls' dormitories.

***

The next day, unlike they expected, there was no announcement about the Chamber of Secrets. None of the headmasters said anything about it, except that there would be no more attacks and they were sure of it. Not many students took their word for it, but since all of their professors stopped walking them down the hall and being so cautious, they began to believe it.

Lyn and Tom were the only ones who knew the real truth and the teachers respected them for that. Tom was, after all, the one who 'saved the day'.

At the end of the last week of school, when all of the finals were done and everyone was either up-tight about their grades or restfully waiting for summer to come along. Unlike all the normal students, they were the two outcasts. They didn't want summer to come along and pick them off their feet; they wanted to stay at Hogwarts forever, even if they were nonentities there as well.

But this holiday was going to be different. Tom didn't care whether the orphanage wanted him to or not, he was going to Lyn's, and Lyn was also pretty happy about this. No more beatings for her! 

At the end of the year, there was always a duel that was a challenge to all the students. Everyone was allowed to try to get into it, but only a few students from each grades were allowed to enter into the championships where the whole school would be watching. No matter what year, it didn't matter, because it was against all the Hogwarts students. It was a huge honor to get into the championships and everyone who did was obviously a great dueler.

Tom had won the school championships every year, ever since his very first year of Hogwarts. Now you know why everyone had hated him. He was great! He could fight anyone and win, obviously showing so much power and righteousness. And this year, he planned to win it again.

Lyn had never gotten as far as Tom, but had gotten into the championships, which was still a big accomplishment. She admired Tom so much for his ability.

Again, they felt great that they both made it, but to Tom, it wasn't enough to just make it into the championships, he had to _win_ to feel real satisfaction.

They both were studying all kinds of spells until right after breakfast when they knew they would have to duel all day until dusk when they there would be the announcing of the final two champions.  
"Hey Tom!" a seventh year picked up Tom by his shirt collar and yelled angrily in his face, "I'm gunna beat you this year!" Tom looked unimpressed as the taller boy threw him back where he had been sitting, turned around, and marched off into the laughing crowd he had just made.

Tom straitened up and looked over at the only girl in sight who wasn't laughing. "I guess we'll see then," he murmured only loud enough for her to hear. She smiled back.

Thirty minutes later, Headmaster Dippet announced the beginning of the annual duel and the game begun. Three duels were going on at once in the huge great hall, but most of the crowd made their way over another seventh-year Ravenclaw who was beating the crap out of a first –year Hufflepuff.

Since neither of them were dueling at that moment, they watched this as well. The seventh-year couldn't just say "expelliarmus."; it was almost as though he had to torture the poor Hufflepuff first.

This brought terrible memories to Tom's mind. He remembered how they laughed and made fun of him… but he won. He crushed the final seventh-year that he was against and was awarded because he was the first to win the annual duel in his first year. He _won_.

His first 3 duels he won easily and with no hurry. Lyn was still going too.

They kept winning until there were the final 4 people, Lyn and Tom being two. The other two people were seventh years. There was one boy and one girl… 

Lyn had never made it to the final four. She had once made it to the final 6, but making it this far was what she had dreamed about all year, yet she knew that no matter how good she was, she could never beat Tom… It was impossible.

"Hey Tom," Lyn said quietly. There was a low rasp in her voice that she only got when she was extremely tired or worn out. "I don't think I can go any further… Sure, it was a blast getting here, but I know I can't last much longer…"

He nodded. He hated the first thought that came to his mind and later regretted it. 'One less competitor'

She looked up at him and for that instant knew he was going to win. There was almost no point in saying it, but she thought she might as well. "Good luck."

Tom's next duel was against the Gryffindor 7th year that had yelled at him before. If anything, Tom wanted to make the ugly boy look totally embarrassed in front of all of his friends. Besides winning, that was his goal. 

"Face your opponents!" Mrs. Jagger, the Gryffindor professor, said loudly and clearly. It was quite obvious that she wanted her house to win, but that didn't throw off Tom. Not in the least.

When they had to begin, Tom was first to move; he always was.

"Heloclora dagriosa!" he yelled the curse that would prevent one from speaking, but was shot down because the Gryffindor yelled the counter-curse.

"Decrosium!" the other kid screamed with a very low bass voice. This was the curse for what was called the 'body scramble.' If you didn't call the counter-curse then you would fall in a heap on the floor.

But Tom was too quick for this and shot back immediately.

"Beautifica!" he almost chuckled while saying this because he knew his opponent wouldn't know the counter-curse.

Suddenly, the older Gryffindor's shapes began to become more smooth and rounded while his hair and eyelashes grew longer.

Well, Tom got what he wanted. Everyone, even those who hated Tom started laughing. Now all he had to do was say the words and he would be one of the final champions.

"Expelliarmus!" He yelled with a hint of laughter in his voice as his opponents want flew in the air and the whistle blew to signify the end of the duel.

He looked over to see Lyn smiling and obviously happy for him.

"How did you do?" he asked over a laughing crowd. They were still laughing at the boy that was now looking rather feminine.

She shook her head. "I can't wait to watch you crush that girl," she said with a bit of anger in her voice. Lyn never got sad, just angry.

"I will," he murmured.

He had never seen this 7th year Ravenclaw. Her name was Jerri and she wore the most concentrated face Tom had ever seen.

But when the whistle blew, her expressions changed immediately. She began smiling and even laughing, even though neither was in the lead.

Tom yelled curse after counter-curse after curse. It became almost repedative, but he was not willing to let his concentration die… He had to win.

"Omnilius!" she screamed and laughed. He knew this was the remembering curse that made you not able to remember anything for the next 15 or so minutes.

"Dohmunica!" he yelled, but then heard another voice out of the crowd say the words "expellarmus," And he was not quick enough to respond.

It had to be another voice out of the crowd.

There was no way she could have said that.

Someone else was helping her.

Why?

Tom's wand flew from his hand and Jerri started cheering almost immediately. She had won.

He stood there for just a second staring at them. They were all surrounding her. Cheering for her.

"That's not fair!" he screamed. It wasn't. She had no right.

"Oh, Tom! You're just jealous!" almost everyone screamed. They had announced that she had won.

How _dare_ they!

How dare they steal _his _victory!

Before losing his temper, he stomped out into the hallways. Where was the fresh air? Now, he had to get outside.

If he hadn't been so angry and seething over with rage, he might have heard the small padding of footsteps behind him.

Now he was outside in the center of the Quidditch field where he threw himself down and pounded the soft, grassy ground with all the anger he felt. He was screaming so hard that almost nothing came out of his mouth.

"Tom!" he heard Lyn's voice running toward him.

"What do you want!" His voice seemed to echo through the empty stands.

"Riddle," she said and put her hand on his shoulder, "Riddle…"

"WHAT!"

"You are NOT all powerful! You can't expect yourself to be!" she said harshly.

"But I should be!" he spat back, "Someday Lyn… Someday…"

He had somewhat calmed down now

"Someday what?" she asked curiously

"Someday I will be the most powerful wizard… I swear it."

"Correction," she said. Tom looked up at her. "Someday _we_ will be the most powerful _wizards." _

***


	2. Chapter 2

Hope you guys are liking it so far J 

Chapter 2

The whole train ride home Lyn was wondering how things were going to work out that summer. She was glowing with happiness when Tom got the permission to stay at her house for the holidays.

"No point in telling dad," she had said, "He doesn't care about me anyway."

And now they were off. Things weren't going to be perfect this summer, but they sure were going to be better.

Once they got off the train at 9¾ Tom asked exactly how they were going to get to her house from where they were. She shrugged. They hadn't the money for a taxi, but it was a long way off from London.

"We'll train and then hike," she said blandly.

"_Hike_? You don't mean hitch-hike, do you?" Tom asked.

She shrugged again. "I've done it for 5 years now."

It must not be that bad, Tom thought. He wasn't afraid; he just couldn't imagine that she had done that before.

"Of course, its only 5 miles once we get off the right train so we might just as well walk," she murmured.

"Oh, OK," he said shortly. He didn't want to seem like a sissy to her or anything, but he was used to living tough.

A couple hours later, they were finally walking to her house. The streets were polluted with litter and there were many small shops and stores along the way that were just as dirty as the ones that Tom was used to around the orphanage.

Finally, after about 3 ½ hours of walking around, hauling their stuff, and getting rides, they came to a small, crumbling house that looked more like a broken-down shack at the edge of town.

"There it is," she said, so glad that they had reached their destination.

"Looks great," said Tom smiling sarcastically. It reminded him of his former home. Some of the windows were broken; the roof looked like it was going to cave in any second.

She started toward her house and Tom followed, unsure what to expect. She listened for a second and opened the door cautiously.

"Good, he's not home," she whispered. Most of the lights were turned off inside and where the walls had cracked, Lyn had duck-taped them together. She knew no one else would. "C'mon, this way's my room," she beckoned.

On the way down the short hallway, Tom almost tripped over about 5 beer cans, all of which crumpled under his weight.

"Sorry about the mess… It's been a while since anyone cleaned up in here…" she apologized.

"Oh, its fine." Tom was used to much worse things.

She opened the door that was almost falling off its hinges to her room. Tom looked around. It was a very small room with a crushed bed in the corner that had sheets strewn across it. Across from the bed there was a door that looked like it lead to a bathroom and a small desk against the wall. Everywhere where there was a crack or something was falling apart, she had duck-taped it. 

"Home sweet home," she said sarcastically.

He smiled. "This is great!" He looked over at her beaming face that looked a bit sarcastic as well.

"I'm just waiting until next year so I can fix the whole house with magic," she said, "I'm tired of this stuff."

He nodded. He understood.

That night, Tom slept on the floor of her room with a few sheets while she slept on the bed. They were both so tired from walking all day and practically crashed once they got there.

***

That same night, they woke up with a smash—literally.

Lyn's dad threw a glass bottle at the floor next to her bed which shattered and woke both of them up. Lyn got up immediately and tried to hide her look of panic.

"Who is this kid!?" he demanded.

Tom sat up on the floor and leaned against the wall.

"I'm Tom Riddle," he said flatly.

"And who said you could stay here!?" the mad man screamed.

"I did!" Lyn shouted back, "And he's staying here for the whole damn summer so get used to it!"

Her dad glared at her, but when realizing that he was unarmed this time, he left the dark room.

"Get used to it… He's always like that…" Lyn murmured.

Tom nodded through the darkness; he had never expected more of her house or her family.

"You know something?" Tom said.

"What?" Lyn said sleepily.

"My dad and Muggle-mother are still out there somewhere. They dumped me off at the orphanage because they assumed I'd be magical. But before they did, they left me with his stupid name"  
"That sucks." She had already heard some of this before.

"Someday I'm going to kill them," Tom said to himself before falling into a deep, soundless sleep.

***

The next morning, the two went out to a Muggle bakery with whatever Muggle money they had and had breakfast. Mr. Willard wasn't home, so they had the whole house to themselves. He had a low-paying job to go to and wouldn't be back until around 5:00. 

"So, what are we going to do all day?" Lyn finally asked when they got back from the bakery.

"I think we should plan."

"Plan? for what?" Lyn obviously didn't know what he was talking about.

"Ridding this island of Muggles," he said shortly. A grim smile slid across his face.

Lyn was taken aback. "Do you really think we could do that?"

"Well, first we'll work on this island, then we'll work on the planet."

She closed her eyes and thought. Revenge, what a beautiful thing. How heavenly the world would be without any ignorant Muggles to mess everything up. How wonderful…

"Do you really think we could do that?" she asked, still thinking it over.

"If we've got enough followers, and I've heard of so many places all over of wizarding towns that are full of people who despise Muggle and Muggle practices. If we come up with a plan, they're sure to follow."

Lyn still didn't know how they were going to pull this off, but she certainly wasn't about to argue with Tom. He had to know what he was talking about.

So, for the rest of the day they spent their time coming up with ways to banish everyone but wizards and witches, some of which were very creative.

"It all depends on if people agree with our ideas," Tom said, "We'll never gain any power if we don't." Lyn knew this of coarse. They had to gain strength first before they could do anything.

"What about Hogwarts though? Are we going there next year?" Lyn brought up a very good point.

"I don't think that will be necessary. We know more magic than most 7th years do. Why bother?"

"Because people will question if we don't," Lyn said, "They'll get suspicious."

"I think that we have more important things on our schedule than to waste our time going back to that school so full of Muggle-lovers."

Lyn nodded. She decided she would see how things went along and protest later if she needed to. "All right then."

***

A month went by and things changed within their relationship. As soon as they opened up a little bit, they understood each other more than they ever had before.  
It wasn't a love. It wasn't a crush. But it certainly was there. It was more of a respect for each other. They respected the fact that they each lived like they did and agreed on most things. 

When working with her, Tom soon found out how clever and brilliant Lyn was. He never thought she was stupid or ignorant, but she never got an elementary school education (A/N: I don't know what that would be in Britain) because of her father. Soon he figured out that Lyn had what most people don't have: common sense.

One day, when Lyn found out how much Tom hated his name, she began to mix around the spellings. For most peoples' names, this wouldn't work, or even be worth trying, but it was something Lyn wanted to do. She wanted to do it for Tom.

For hours she spent looking at the letters and putting them in different orders. Tom needs this, she thought, he can't keep the name of his bloody Muggle father!

Until finally it stuck her. _I am Lord Voldemort. _The letters fit perfectly and she wrote it down on an old piece of newspaper and stuffed it in her pocket. Still not knowing if Tom would approve it, she decided she would tell Tom when the time was right.

Later on, Tom thought in a way that he had never thought before. He decided that he wouldn't kill Lyn when they reached the top. It was a hard decision for him, but he _needed_ Lyn. Lyn was _important._ She was the only one who had ever brought him happiness in his life, and he respected her for that. Lyn would never turn against him. Lyn knew what she was doing.

And for a while every night, he'd look up at her. She would be lying in bed asleep while he would still be on the floor. Her face would be calm and her chest would rise so evenly. Oh, if only she could stay sleeping forever the way her face was warm and calm. He knew that wherever she was in her dreams, she was safe. That was important.

But now they had to leave. They were going to a town named Redsnake the next day to try to spread their ideas… It wasn't going to be easy.

But he had Lyn on his side.

"You know something Lyn?" he said clearly through the darkness,

"We could rule the world someday."

***


End file.
